Child sex ring had 'links all the way to No10'

Labour MP Tom Watson claimed that a senior aide to a ­former Prime Minister was connected to the scandal.

Boys in care were taken to a guesthouse in the 1980s and abused by a network of “prominent people”.

They are said to include government ministers, senior ­police officers, judges, royal aides and celebrities.

Scotland Yard began looking into the claims after Labour MP Tom Watson, 46, told the Commons that a senior aide to a ­former Prime Minister was connected to the scandal.

Metropolitan Police chiefs have ­confirmed a full criminal investigation has been launched after meetings with whistleblowers and victims.

There are claims that leading figures in the Establishment used their pos-itions of power to cover up their crimes. The allegations centre around the Grafton Close care home in Richmond, south-west London, which closed more than 20 years ago.

Youngsters were abused at sex parties at the Elm Guest House in neighbouring Barnes, an upmarket part of London, it is claimed. The B&B has since been converted into flats.

The claims first surfaced at the height of publicity into the Jimmy Savile sex abuse scandal, which led to Tory peer Lord McAlpine wrongly being named as a paedophile on BBC2’s Newsnight.

Scotland Yard yesterday confirmed Operation Fernbridge was under way after Mr Watson’s call for a probe was backed by PM David Cameron, 46.